@fun1234 the 1500 will convert to a 2170. Not sure of his individual section scores but if you plug in a 37 for reading, 36 for writing and a 38.5 for Math you get 700 CR, 750 M, and 680 W. Send the actual section scores if different and the Score Converter on my phone will be happy to work more magic! (you can also download the spreadsheets from the CB site).
I am leaning towards the concordance tables released by CB as being too pessimistic. Anecdotal evidence posted by parents on CC indicates kids didnât do all that well in March SAT compared to PSAT test. Passage of time, familiarity with test format, preparation, skills acquired with additional schooling should only improve test scores as you go from PSAT to new format SAT. Perhaps actual data after a year or so of the new format SAT will indicate that the March SAT concords to the old SAT apples-to-apples on the 1600 scale. I donât understand why CB does not publish percentiles from actual test takers from March SAT, so each student knows how he/she did compared to other students who took the exact same test. All this muck up about representative sample, user percentiles is just bogus.
My daughter did land up improving her score as she went from 1440 to 1540 (780M, 760V) on the SAT, but she prepared for it unlike her PSAT test.
I think they made the March SAT harder- since the results from the PSAT point to the fact it was easier. That said, my son thought the March SAT was easy when he left, and his score was not what he was expected. That tells me that the questions were tricky. Its hard to say without have the actual questions. I donât think the CB is releasing this test.
@suzyQ7 That seems to be how it worked out for many students. If you remember the thread after the March SAT, so many students were posting how easy it was. Those very same students were more than happy to share their PSAT scores after the PSAT. In comparison, a much smaller number of students have shared their March SAT scores, which indicates to me that, besides the ones that explicitly stated that they scored lower than expected,many others didnât post at all because they werenât happy with their score.
@suzyQ7 canât the students order score verification or whatever itâs called? I thought that was still an option. Does that not include the actual question?
@suzyQ7 That was our sonâs experience too. The ERW score on the SAT was the surprising one compared to the PSAT.
My daughterâs experience mimics those above. 1390 on PSAT - 1350 on the April in-school SAT. The math score decrease was much of the change. She didnât prep for the PSAT at all. Based on her PSAT score she focused on studying for the ERW for the SAT and didnât do any math review. She too walked out of the test thinking she did pretty good (which she did). She wasnât thrilled overall with her score and sheâll probably take the SAT again depending on the June ACT results.
MY S had a PSAT of 1460 and took the SAT test in March said it was tricky however he still scored a 1480 which was okay with him. No studying for either tests.
Despite the PSAT-SAT-ACT concordance conundrum, I think for my daughter the SAT to ACT concords well, she scored a 1550 on SAT which concords (officially per CB) to 34 on ACT which is exactly what she got. She is done with SAT (other than subject tests), but will re-take ACT to improve her science (she plans to be a STEM kid) and essay writing score.
My son went from a 1480 on PSAT to 1460 on SAT (8/8/8 essay). Based on how he felt after the test, he was expecting a 1550+ score, although he did not prep for the SAT at all. Heâs done with testing anyway⊠.he has a 35 ACT. The only place we sent the SAT scores to was NMS - he will not send to other colleges.
Based on these latest sentiments, why are so many saying that the SAT scores are inflated?
They are inflated relative to the previous version, which is on average 30 points lower on the same scale.
@thinmints Because the CB published concordance tables which claim a 1500 on the new SAT is really a 1460 on the old SAT.
However, it isnât clear that those tables were based on the performance distribution of those who took the March test. Anecdotal data is suggesting that the March test was harder than the concordance tables would indicate.
My son took the optional essay because he did want to apply to other non National Merit finalist schools as well that are hard to get into. How much weight do they put on the optional essay. He didnât do well at all on that. He is interested in Rice University. I am wondering if he should take the test again just to try to do better on that or just go on to taking the Act test and see how he does. I guess non of his friends did well either. I was wondering how others did on the optional essay
@fun1234 â the ACT is also a hotbed of students scoring low on the essay portion.
@fun1234 â out of curiosity, I just looked at Riceâs site and it looks like the essay is optional.
Interesting to see how PSAT and March SAT did not deviate for many testers on this thread. Same here. D got a 1390 PSAT (700 EBRW, 690 M (SI 209)) and got the same SAT score. She was disappointed b/c her December 2015 SAT was a 2140 (800 CR, 710 M, 630 W), which conforms to a 1490 on the new one and she was hoping not to have to send the old SAT in b/c of the âlowâ W score even if a conformed 1490 âlooksâ quite respectable. Her GC has said in her experience most colleges donât really pay attention to the writing section of the SAT but Iâm not sure if thatâs true. She was very against the ACT but now sheâs coming around to the idea of it and I am glad to see so many posters here who have reported success with it. I always thought she would be better off with the ACT, although it would be really great to have had the testing all done with. Oh wellâŠ
I have done some estimations on UCF and UF using the new concordance tables. A 1430 be should well into the top 25% for UCF. It looks like the top end of the middle 50% at UF will be about a 1440 (75th percentile). However UF only ranks SAT scores as Important and has six other categories ranked as Very Important.
I would say he is done with the SAT for the Florida schools.
From Art at Compass on conforming scores
NMSC had to do some knot twisting in the past because they wanted to use a Writing score unpolluted by the essay. Now that the essay is not a part of the 1600 score, things should be simpler. The two most likely candidates seem:
- They use the SAT Total score (400-1600) based on a concordance of the old standard. Depending on how they do this, Iâd expect somewhere in the ballpark of 1360-1380 as the confirming score.
- They feel the need to keep the weighting of CR and W as with the SI. Since EBRW is an equal weighting of reading and writing, the standard could be M + 2xEBRW and about 2020-2060.
I have not yet heard how they are leaning. For students who took the old SAT, I expect the standard to remain at about 1960 (although you do need to multiply the writing skills subscore by 10). Most NMSFs are able to meet the confirmation bar. I think you know this, but Iâll mention it for any others â the confirmation score is a national standard and is not driven up or down by the studentâs own PSAT score or the cutoff for the studentâs state.
Thanks @knowledgeless!
Whatâs really nice is that if you are taking SAT just to confirm your PSAT there is no need to take the essay - at all! D3 was very happy to drop it from her registration.
Folks, before taking more tests do check with your colleges of interest as to whether the essay is even required for SAT or ACT. More and more colleges are dropping the requirement. Most if not all colleges should have the new rules up regarding new vs. old SAT. If they donât - call and ask.